I'm not trying to exhibit "smug superiority." I came to the belief that kindness and acceptance are more effective through my own interactions over my life both using a more combative/snarky communication style and later adapting the concept of "right speech" in communication. I came at Buddhism through working with actual Buddhist monks in a professional capacity. I grew up without a religion, and I'm not big on dogma, but what I found in the monks I worked with was a genuine humanitarianism and a feeling of peace I hadn't quite experienced before.

I don't think anger is shameful, and actually neither does Buddhism to the best of my knowledge. Buddhists definitely feel anger. I feel angry a lot. I think there was a time when I would have responded to your post by getting very reactive and insulting you in some way. But it wouldn't achieve anything. I might feel better for a nanosecond, but then you'd probably insult me again, and the cycle continues and in the end I'd feel like shit all day.

I support anger though. I understand anger. I understand a lot of people here have probably had really painful interactions with trans people and/or they are just angry by the assault on women's rights in general. That makes me angry too. I just think that in order to fight for women's rights in the most effective way, the case needs to be made in a calm, rational way that reaches out to all the potential allies we have - and that includes people in the trans community. It also includes a lot of people like myself who used to think they were for trans rights before they looked into the issue, but who will be majorly turned off by insulting or taunting trans people. The perception of "punching down" (whether or not it's really down in some cases) will turn people off. But the truth presented with calm will bring people in.

I bet you and I agree on a lot more than we disagree on. I bet if we met in a room we would get along. The internet tends to highlight differences rather than commonalities, however. And it makes it easier to insult each other. This worries me.